Hawaii is a treat!

 So, it is January now, which means that I didn't blog at all in December, even though we had some amazing adventures!

December started out with a journey to the state of Hawaii! Sadly Vincent Van didn't Go to Hawaii, but we had fun none the less! We flew to Honolulu, then on to Hilo, and spent 2 weeks at Hale Laule'a at Opihi Point about 15 minutes north of Hilo. It is an Airbnb that my parents stayed at several years ago, and the owners asked them to come back to take care of the property and guests when they were on vacation. Julie and I were able to join them this time to help out and enjoy the beauty of the island, and it was wonderful!

 

It was a place where one can just relax and enjoy the peace of living in a place where the air is warm, comfortable, and possibly raining. But even the rain is pleasant. And, there are fresh coconuts! We were both working while we were there, but we had plenty of time to go on some adventures. My three favorites were: 1) Going snorkeling at the Captain Cook Monument, 2) going to the Vanilla Farm, and 3) going on the Manta Ray Tour!

The Captain Cook monument can be reached by a trail of about 2 miles that drops about 1000' elevation on the way down. Oddly enough it rises about 1000' on the way back up, which is noticeable, but there are plenty of beautiful views! The monument is erected on the site of Captain Cook's demise. Sadly he lost his head there as it was removed by the natives in retaliation for his attempt to kidnap their chief. Once we arrived at the monument we hopped in the water for some snorkeling, there were lots of beautiful fish, and I saw an eel! Sadly we didn't see any dolphins, although they can sometimes be seen there from what we have heard.

The Vanilla farm tour was fascinating. It turns out that vanilla is not an easy crop to grow, harvest, or prepare for market. The farm on Hawaii has been working to find ways to make it easier for the islanders to participate by setting up a co-op where they only have to grow and pollinate the vanilla, then they can sell their beans to the farm and they will do the rest to get them ready to sell. Also, they served a meal where everything, both sweet and savory, was made with vanilla as an ingredient. It was amazing, and they did a tremendous job of using vanilla to enhance the flavors without becoming overpowering.

Then there were the manta rays! My goodness, they are amazing creatures! They can grow up to 12ish feet in wingspan, and they can swim in bursts of up to 35 mph! They also don't have any defense mechanism besides swimming away (no stinger, no teeth) so it is how they stay alive. The tour we went on took us about 200' or so off shore just after dark, then put floating light boards in the water, and we hopped in. Each of us grabbed the light boards with our hands, put floaties under our legs, and laid horizontally on the surface of the ocean. The lights attracted the plankton, and that attracted the mantas. It was so cool to see the mantas swimming inches from our noses! I had a gopro with me, and I was able to get some video of it, so I made a quick youtube video!

There were plenty of other adventures, and plenty more that are still waiting for us in the future, but eventually it was time to fly back to Vincent and resume van life. It was good to be back in the van, sleeping in our own bed, home again.